Painted on the Skin
by Lumos Fabula
Summary: A Masterpiece Soulmate! AU oneshot of Sheena and Zelos from Sheena's point of view as she watches the tattoo on her leg evolve.


**Growing Master Piece Soulmate AU!** Where you have a very simple tattoo on you. When you start interacting with your soulmate the more complex it gets.

Sheena's tattoo was on her right thigh. The one she was born with and the one that would someday give her an idea of who her soulmate would be. Like all tattoos that people were born with, hers was very simple-an oval piece with points at the end in the color of the rising sun, all bright and orange and yellow and tinged with red.

As she grew up and watched the people in her village meet their soulmates, it never ceased to amaze her how beautiful the tattoos would become. Her friend Akiko, who was like an older sister to her, met her soulmate as a child. She would often let Sheena look at the tattoo on her knee and trace it. (Sheena, being a child, didn't realize until later in her life how invasive that was and how kind Akiko had been to let her do that.) The stylized shuriken was surrounded by autumn leaves and the sun (to represent Akiko and Haru) and continued to grow as the two added two members to their family.

Though Sheena never wanted to admit in her teenage years that she was as eager to find her soulmate as any of the other girls, she really was. She tried to hide the compulsion deep down within her, especially after what had happened with Volt. She had a hard time believing that anyone such as her, who had led her villagers to their death at the hands of Volt, could have a soulmate.

When she met him, it was unexpected. She and Corrine were running around in the lab, laughing and playing tag, when she ran straight into someone. As she fell back on the floor, the person caught her wrist and kept her from falling. When she never hit the floor, she inched her eyes open and nearly gasped at the handsome teenager holding her wrist. His sky blue eyes bored into hers and his red hair, past his shoulders, was loose and falling into his face. He looked equally as stunned as she was.

She stammered out an apology as a grin crossed his face. He helped her resume a normal upright position and asked if she was okay. She nodded, looking up at him. He wasn't that much taller than her, but there was something about his presence that filled up the room.

Then he had ruined it all by asking her if she wanted to come home with him to make sure she was really okay. Sheena's face had turned bright red and she screeched at him that he was a pervert and stomped off with Corrine.

Later that night, as she took her shower, she noticed that her tattoo had gained another pointed oval piece.

As she and Zelos interacted more and more, her tattoo grew. She couldn't believe that her soulmate was this womanizer, this goof, this irresponsible, nonchalant person. However, over the next five years, Sheena was able to see that there were sides to him that he never let other people see and her only in rare flashes. She started to understand that his womanizing persona was a front to keep people from getting to close. Their talks on the roof of the lab and around the streets of Meltokio showed that he was convinced she was someone who could be trusted to get close to him.

But then he sabotaged them by going out with his hunnies and (she never confirmed this and didn't want to at the time) sleeping with them. He pushed her away and she let her hot nature and jealousy push her from him, too.

By the time she was sent to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant, her tattoo covered the inside of her thigh with all the oval pieces and the top of her thigh was becoming covered with all sorts of different flowers for her real name, Hanami. There was a violent red color in some of the orange pieces. Sheena made sure that her thigh was covered at all times.

When she saw Colette's wings, she knew immediately what was on her thigh. How had Zelos undergone what Colette did and not even say anything to her (other than when he was at the stage where he couldn't)? When had he done that? Had he even done it yet? She had so many questions, but things had gotten so twisted and she was so confused and scared that she couldn't ever bring herself to talk to him like they used to on the roof.

Once they started traveling together, the other side of the wings started to fill in, still tinged with that unholy blood red. She often wondered what Zelos' tattoo was and how it was showing how things had soured between them.

When they stormed the Tower of Salvation and Zelos revealed what had been hiding in his mind, Sheena felt herself break. He had been hiding everything again and she had known it and she had let herself fall for his facade when she knew better.

Her mind was distracted through their fight with the Gatekeeper. She made some clumsy mistakes and chastised herself for not better protecting the friends she had left. So when it was her turn to make her sacrifice, she went with a peaceful smile. Hands forming the mini-mana cannon to protect Lloyd and Genis, she watched them go and screamed at the top of her lungs, as if she could intimidate this berserk root.

Her knees crashed to the ground and she breathed, just savoring her last few moments. A root knocked her into the open chasm and she managed to grab a root before she descended into the darkness. Though she knew it was futile, she supposed some part of her wanted to live yet. But she couldn't hold on and she had done her best.

Her heart crying out as she released the root, Sheena didn't make a sound as the light sped away above her. She closed her eyes and breathed.

His voice rang out, calling her name. Her eyes snapped open and she saw him-streaming hair of red and piercing eyes of the sky with his wings beating furiously like his own sun behind him-his hand outstretched.

His eyes were wide and his his skin looked paler than usual as he reached her and grabbed her hand (when had her hand risen to meet his) and he pulled her to him. Slowing them to a stop, he crushed her to him, breathing harshly into her shoulder. Sheena gingerly embraced him and breathed in his scent.

Something seemed right again. She didn't feel as dazed. She felt her awareness returning to her and felt her anger at his betrayal rush through her in as equal a dose as relief that he had returned and that her soulmate had not let her down the way she had let him down.

Softly, she said his name. He looked at her, somehow making himself seem small though he was still above her as always. She cradled his cheek and admitted her tattoo was on her right thigh.

Zelos stared at her before bursting into hysterical laughter. Once he calmed down and breathed deeply, he smirked at her and said his was on his left thigh.

Their conversation to the top of the chasm was still strained and he could tell she was angry and confused and upset, but it was a start to healing what had nearly shattered.

After they defeated Yggdrasill, when they rested that night, Sheena saw the blood red in her tattoo had softened into a red very similar to Zelos' hair.

Through the end of it all, standing beneath the tree they had all worked to save and revive, Sheena turned to Zelos and found him staring at her. She felt her cheeks turn red as she asked the Idiot Chosen what he wanted.

He gave her that infuriating smirk and subtly patted his left thigh. Sheena understood. They had a long way to go to create their masterpiece, but it was already off to a better start.


End file.
